I know I risk sounding like an English teacher when I use the words “figurative language.” The phrase may sound frightening but figurative language will make your writing more interesting evocative and memorable. And who doesn’t want that –even in non-fiction? Here are some examples of figurative language:
• allusion
• hyperbole
• metaphor
• oxymoron
• personification
• paradox
• simile
I read widely and follow many forms of media, keeping my eyes and ears attuned to figurative language so I can share a piece of it with you each week.
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes and metaphors from novelist Joshua Ferris… I’m a relatively fast reader but it took me more than two months to get through the novel The Unnamed by Joshua […]
The figurative language of Joshua Ferris… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a metaphor from Karen Auvinen… A few years ago when I was travelling with my family in England, we saw a fox in the backyard of the house where we were staying (in
The figurative language of Karen Auvinen… Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors and similes from Richard Wagamese. My friend Ellen recommended to me the 2009 book Ragged Company by Ojibway author Richard Wagamese (pictured above). This tale of a group of homeless people who win a $13.5 million lottery
The figurative language of Richard Wagamese… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a metaphor from Bob Morris… My mother died 10 years ago last month. I still remember the inexorable hours I spent in her hospital room, comforting her, feeding her and negotiating with doctors.
The figurative language of Bob Morris… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a metaphor from Logan Hill. I started watching the TV show Mad Men rather late — at least a year after the series had begun in 2007. Impressed by the acting, the set design, the
The figurative language of Logan Hill… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a simile from Jean Dominique Bauby… The 1998 memoir The Diving Bell and the Butterfly won me over when I read it earlier this year. The book allows a French editor — in his own
The figurative language of Jean Dominique Bauby… Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about some dazzling similes and metaphors from Kevin Brockmeier… I have a not-so-secret affection for memoir. It’s my favourite genre and I usually manage to read about a dozen each year. A memoir by Kevin Brockmeier, however, is
The figurative language of Kevin Brockmeier Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a handful of similes and metaphors from Alexandra Fuller… I used to belong to a book club and one of the first works we devoured was the 2003 memoir Don’t Let’s Go to the
The figurative language of Alexandra Fuller… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a simile from Katherine Ashenburg… California has enacted water restrictions for the first time in state history. For some cities — such as Sacramento — this will mean cutting water usage by up to 35 percent.
The figurative language of Katherine Ashenburg… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a simile from Sebastian Faulks… In his interesting (albeit uneven) collection of stories and novellas, titled A Possible Life, Sebastian Faulks offers some particularly delicious figurative language. I use the word “delicious” deliberately
The figurative language of Sebastian Faulks… Read More »
